


(Un)Guarded

by katquasar



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, M/M, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 08:46:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7354027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katquasar/pseuds/katquasar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Earth was a quiet planet. Initially, Raditz had not liked it, he never liked it when it was too quiet, so quiet that he could hear himself think. When he thought too much, too many things he wanted to not recall came into memory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Un)Guarded

Earth was a quiet planet. Initially, Raditz had not liked it, he never liked it when it was too quiet, so quiet that he could hear himself think. When he thought too much, too many things he wanted to not recall came into memory. The scent of his mother, the rare rainstorms of Vegeta (the planet, not the bratty prince), the tears he'd shed finding out that it was all gone.

Only to find out years later that the one behind it had been the same tyrant he'd served blindly since that day.

A sudden sound startled him from his thoughts, a twig snap that caused him to quickly turn, a hand raised defensively.

“Whoa, it's cool. Just me.” Yamcha said softly, lifting both his hands up and smiling uneasily. 

“...do not sneak up on me.” Raditz responded, his tone low but warm. He had not thought much of Yamcha at first, or any of the humans for that matter. That had quickly changed in having to train and fight alongside them. The scar faced man, a bit younger than himself but older than his younger brother, had earned his trust—hell, Raditz was starting to like him.

“Ease up. Nothing's going to happen here. Freeza's gone. They're all gone. Nobody's gonna hurt you anymore.” Yamcha muttered, sitting down next to him on the grassy hill he'd been sitting on, watching the sun set over the mountains.

“Easy for you to say. You don't know the extent he would go to get even with someone who has betrayed him. Even knowing he's dead now, it's...difficult to let my guard down.” Raditz grumbled, crossing his arms and wrapping his tail around his waist firmly.

“I get it. You went from serving the bastard, to running from him, just to team up with us and...well, we won.”

“Not without great cost.”

“But we won. And we survived. Well, some of us had to be wished back—you know what I mean.” Yamcha ended the statement by placing a hand gently on Raditz's shoulder. Months ago, he might have slapped the hand away. He couldn't bring himself to do so.

The hues of color of the setting sun reflected quite nicely on the other man's skin, he realized. And the way that soft, black hair brushed past his face as the wind blew past them. There was an unfamiliar feeling in the Saiyan's chest that he had never felt before, an uneasiness and yet it was exhilarating to feel it all the same. Raditz looked away from Yamcha suddenly, the heat on his face bothersome and a bit embarrassing.

“...you okay?” Yamcha asked after a moment.

“...I'm...fine. I'll be fine.”


End file.
